SYMPHONY HEADS INTO COMMUNITY

Education and outreach an important part of the San Diego orchestra’s tour of China

BEIJING 
Ken-David Masur is used to stepping in at the last minute. One of Masur’s multiple roles with the San Diego Symphony is to serve as a backup to music director Jahja Ling.

But Masur seemed surprised to be put on the spot when the symphony was in Yantai. The Yantai Community Orchestra invited Masur and some symphony musicians to a presentation, and after the amateur ensemble had finished playing Strauss’ Overture to “Die Fledermaus,” one of the officials turned to Masur. Through a translator, he asked Masur to critique the ensemble, which played with more earnestness than expertise.

A suddenly animated Masur leapt onto the stage with the orchestra and started talking about how they had a part to play. He explained how they weren’t just playing notes, but they were portraying characters, and the music had to reflect those characters.

As a translator communicated his words, some of the musicians nodded, but more tellingly, when Masur started conducting them, they smiled.

“We have only 10 minutes, right? But we want to make that memorable,” said Masur afterward. “It’s full of joy what they are doing, even if it’s not perfect. And that’s what we want to focus on.”

During the San Diego Symphony’s “Friendship Tour,” which arrived in Shanghai on Wednesday, outreach and community activities have played a significant role.

On Thursday, several of the orchestra’s musicians visited Shanghai’s Smile Angel Children’s Hospital and worked with students at Tsinghua University before performing an evening concert at the university.

The students in Yantai welcomed whatever help the San Diego musicians could give them. After Masur’s session with the orchestra ended, the students crowded around several of the San Diego Symphony members who were in attendance, including French horn Doug Hall and cellist Yao Zhao (who was born in China and speaks fluent Chinese), seeking guidance, no matter how brief.

The students in Shanghai were in a different category. The Shanghai Conservatory, along with the Beijing Conservatory, is ground zero in China’s drive to produce world-class classical musicians.

At the Shanghai Conservatory, violinists Jeff Thayer and Augustin Hadelich presented a master class for middle school students. Symphony violinist Yeh Shen, a graduate of that same program, served as translator.

The two student violinists, one 16 and the other 17, had stunning technical facility, especially for their age. “I was blown away,” said Hadelich. He and Thayer encouraged them to think more about style and interpretation, demonstrating certain passages on their own violins.

“Perhaps the emphasis of their teacher is very much on the technical side and producing a good sound,” Hadelich said afterward. “But even if you play showpieces, maybe especially if you play showpieces, it’s important to play them like any serious piece of music, with that amount of character and that amount of emotion and phrasing.”

Ling, who is trained as a pianist as well as a conductor, had a similar experience with the two pianists he coached. They both performed extended, virtuosic works by Liszt.

“You have to emphasize the musical side,” Ling said. “That’s why I said to them, I’d like to hear them play more of the classical repertoire, like Mozart, Beethoven, Haydn and Schumann — those kinds of things. Because to play Liszt you have to be technically proficient, but musically how much can you say (if you haven’t studied the classical repertoire)?”